| This engineering research project was designed to develop a system for predicting worker exposures in the petroleum refining industry. Based on past hydrocarbon exposure data and recent fugitive emission research, a catalytic or Platinum Reformer (PTR) Unit at a large, integrated Texas Gulf Coast refinery was selected as the test site.;The prediction methods being tested were: (1) area or zone monitoring with charcoal tube sampling (8-hour, short-term, and centroid), (2) real-time sampling with an Organic Vapor Analyzer (OVA), and (3) computer simulation with EPA's Real-Time Air-Quality Simulation Model (RAM). These methods were correlated for validation purposes with the standard NIOSH method for personal charcoal tube sampling.;During Phase 1, the exposures for 3 mobile operators were evaluated and during Phase 2, the exposures for 4 mobile and 2 stationary operators were evaluated.;The optimum prediction methods for the short-term mobile exposures were rejected for both Phases 1 and 2. This resulted from the lack of either quantifiable exposure data being collected or the lack of prediction method accuracy.;The sampling was conducted in two phases. Phase 1 was performed over a 5 day period in April, 1983, when both sampling and analytical difficulties arose. Therefore, when Phase 2 sampling was performed over a 6 day period in July, 1983, a larger number of samples was collected and the scope of the sampling procedures was expanded.;The optimum prediction methods selected for long-term, mobile type exposures for Phase 1 was the RAM Method. Using expanded prediction methods for Phase 2, the Charcoal Tube - Short Term Method was found to best describe the long-term mobile exposures. The RAM method was chosen as the secondary method.;For long-term, stationary exposures in Phase 2, the RAM Method was chosen as the optimum prediction method. The Charcoal Tube - Short Term Method was the secondary choice. |
